State Seals of Biliteracy (SoBL) are a growing trend and present a promising method of serving an increasingly bilingual population. Currently, state SoBLs have been available almost exclusively at the high school level. An Oregon community college initiated the opportunity for students to study and receive the state SoBL in higher education. The…

This paper examines the use of technology in the development and assessment of interpersonal communication skills in an online second language (L2) Spanish classroom. The study explores the use of synchronous and asynchronous communication tools and strategies to promote interaction among learners, while also considering the challenges and…

Globalization and new technologies mean that additional-language students now have unprecedented access to naturalistic interactions with native or highly competent speakers (HCSs). Even though a majority of students would still prefer to have teacher guidance in these interactions, only some teachers may want or be able to do so. This…

This collaborative writing intervention in one CUNY community college examined the effectiveness of mixing English language learners (ELLs) and native English speakers (NES) in advanced-level developmental writing courses. We describe the translingual approach to curriculum and intervention along with promising developmental education practices.…

This study investigated the dynamics between matched heritage language learner (HLL) dyads, second language learner (L2L) dyads, and mixed HLL-L2L dyads in the Spanish L2 classroom. Data come from 15-minute video recordings of 16 dyads, including four HLL-HLL, four L2L-L2L, and eight HLL-L2L dyads that were collected during collaborative writing…

This article describes the development process of a project for heritage language speakers of Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese at a high-enrollment community college in the northeast United States. This pilot project, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, aimed to empower minority group students through active reinforcement of students'…

Despite the growing linguistic diversity of students in today's community college writing classes, there has been little research on the unique problems that instructors face when students from differing second linguistic and cultural backgrounds populate the same classrooms. This study explores the extent to which four community college writing…

Community college campuses around the United States serve an increasingly diverse student body. A report from the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights highlights this growing trend by outlining a plan to increase racial diversity at four-year institutions by encouraging transfers from community colleges, primarily because community…

This study gathered information on student engagement with Facebook, and described non-native English speakers' (NNS) expectations and experience. This also assessed the relationship this technology has with writing efficacy and compared NNS and native English speakers (NS) groups. Demographic data were collected and means were compared to…

This study investigates the dynamics in the Spanish classroom between heritage language learner (HLL) dyads, second language learner (L2L) dyads, and mixed HLL-L2L dyads. Specifically, it examines oral, written and embodied discourse that informs our understanding of how learners attend to language. Analysis for this dissertation examined…

In this study done at a community college in South Florida, the achievements of students who spoke English as their second language who had attended their K-12 education outside the United States in their home countries, in a U.S. college course on world geography are compared with the achievements of students in the same classes who spoke English…

Westchester Community College, which teaches English to about 4,000 non-native speakers each year, has one of the most comprehensive English as a Second Language programs in the country. It's also leading the charge to transform immigrant education and make it a national priority. In 2008, the college started the Community College Consortium for…

Response to student writing has been a research concern for composition specialists for the past several decades. However, most research to date has utilized student opinions or researcher judgments about teacher feedback, with researchers rarely consulting teachers themselves as informants. Also, first language (L1) and second language (L2)…

The authors present two experiences of assimilation, "melting-pot" and "salad-bowl" processes, their connections to the WASP framework of skin color, language, and religion, and their influences in the classroom. They focus on how fluency in the English language is the dominant assimilation factor for immigrant students and share their experiences…